Americans eat 20M pounds of candy corn

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 31 (UPI) -- At just 3.57 calories a piece, candy corn is a Halloween staple, but it hardly resembles corn and isn't the least bit healthy, a U.S. food expert says.

"Maybe it's time for a healthier candy corn," Phil Lempert, a food industry analyst, trend watcher and creator of supermarketguru.com, said in a statement. "Halloween accounts for 75 percent of the annual candy corn production and according to social media analyst NetBase, candy corn is the most talked about Halloween candy this year -- both the good and the bad!"

Candy corn was created in the 1880s by George Renninger of the Wunderlee Candy Co., but shortly afterwards the Goelitz Confectionary Co., the firm that ultimately became Jelly Belly, began producing the candy, Lempert said.

The National Confectioners Association estimates 20 million pounds of candy corn are sold each year and the top branded retailer of candy corn today, is Brach's.

"Today, candy corn is made primarily from sugar, corn syrup, wax, artificial coloring and binders, but recipes vary by manufacturer," Lempert said. "It's thought they sell enough candy corn annually, to circle the earth 4.25 times if the kernels were laid end to end. Now that's scary!"